The plot bunnies strike again
by Delora2047
Summary: Several GR characters face the machinations of fanfiction. Goose/Niko, Zachary/your imagination
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: 'The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers' is copyrighted by Hearst Entertainment, Inc._

_This is a work of fanfiction and I make no profit of it._

_Author's note:_

_The plot bunnies said I had to write this. I'm innocent. Really._

* * *

It is night on an unnamed cargo ship. The S5 Rangers are on an undercover mission that is so insignificant that the experienced reader knows already here that it can only be a setup for a tumultuous adventure that will test their loyalties and force them to confront their deepest fears.

The small kitchen in the ship's passenger section lies quiet when all of a sudden Goose enters and starts rummaging through the cupboards. He is interrupted when Niko joins him.

"Shane, I need to talk to you."

"Sure, just let me find something to drink first."

"Are you looking for coffee?" she asks. "There is some in the right drawer."

"Why does everyone always assume that I only drink coffee? Am I a walking cliché or what?"

She shrugs. "You could always try some chamomile tea."

"No, that's your cliché."

"Well, there's still that expired protein shake in the leftmost drawer…"

Shane opens the drawer, adds some water to the protein powder to make it into a drink and sits down at the table with Niko.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

Niko looks at him intently. Her eyes are flashing green, blue and purple.

"I have had visions of things to come. I can sense great danger. I think there is another fanfic approaching."

Goose stops stirring his protein shake and looks suddenly very serious.

"Can you tell what it will be about?"

For a moment, Niko's eyes turn black like the vastness of space outside the ship.

"All I can see for sure is that we will be tested to the very core of our being. It's also one of 'those' fics."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." Goose sounds nervous, though.

"Well, you and me…" she trails off.

Goose still looks uncomprehending.

"I think you need to be more specific; they didn't really teach me literature at Wolf Den."

Niko laces her hands and starts to lecture him. She's looking slightly uncomfortable though.

"Well, there are basically two versions, and I'm not sure which one is ahead of us. Version one has me loose control over my powers, and you become the prime target of that. The whole experience sends me onto a major guilt trip and leaves you feeling kind of overwhelmed. In version two, I'm seriously hurt, which forces you to confront your true feelings for me, but you don't tell me until after a lot of angst and soul-searching. The two versions can also be combined."

Goose looks kind of overwhelmed at that revelation.

"So?" Niko prods.

"Huh?"

"Which version do you prefer?"

"I'm not sure. Can I think about it?" Goose fidgets on his chair nervously.

"Well, yes, but don't take too much time; I'm starting to feel kind of unstable."

Goose is staring anxiously into his protein shake as though he could find the answer there.

"Niko? Whatever we do – can we do it before you develop a fateful attraction to Zachary?"

Niko dismisses that suggestion with a shake of her head.

"I'm usually not that attracted to him. I think it would take some major timeline blending or switching for that to occur."

"So since we know about this danger beforehand – what can we do?" Goose asks grimly.

"Well, I was thinking if we confront our feelings now, that might take some pressure out of the experience."

Goose looks stunned. "What feelings?"

Niko takes his hand.

"Well, you've always been a good friend to me, and I think you could be more."

Goose looks like a trapped rabbit in front of a snake.

"Niko, I'm not really sure whether I would be good for you. I have years of indoctrination as a Supertrooper that don't allow me to be in a relationship, plus I'm not really over Darkstar, and I flirt with every woman I see to scare you away."

Niko looks resigned.

"It was worth a try."

Sullen silence settles between them. Niko is staring at the ceiling while Shane avoids looking at her.

Finally he speaks. "Niko?"

She looks up. "Yes?"

Shane's face shows sudden tenderness.

"I care about you. Try to stay away from Scarecrow and Killbane."

Niko smiles and puts her hand on his arm.

"And you try not to get psycho crystallized."

Niko keeps looking into his eyes. Shane realizes her eyes are deep as the sea. He brushes a stray wisp of hair out of her face. They keep moving closer. Their faces are only inches away from each other.

Seconds before their lips meet, Shane pulls away abruptly.

"I'm sorry, Niko, I really like you, but I don't think I can confront my true feelings for you without some major pressure." He looks shaken.

Niko sighs in frustration.

"Okay. Then I'll just sit here and do some brooding over what those feelings are until the plot hits."

"Sounds like a plan. Just let me get some coffee and then I'll join you."


	2. Chapter 2

Zachary and Doc are sitting in the common room of the ship's passenger quarters.

Zachary is staring out of the window into the blackness of space.

Suddenly Doc speaks:

"My tweakers are twitching restlessly. Some have even come out of their CDU. Something evil must be approaching."

"Yes, I can feel it in my bionics. Something is not right, and it's going to strike soon," Zachary replies gloomily and keeps staring out of the window. So many decisions to make in his life and so little time for them.

"Are you brooding over your wife, who is still in the clutches of the Queen of the Crown and whom you fail to rescue time after time?" Doc asks sympathetically.

"Actually, I was just wondering whether I should buy a new carpet for my living room."

"Uhm, okay."

Doc keeps staring at Zachary's back until Zachary gives in and turns around.

"Alright, what are _you_ brooding about?"

Doc waves his hands as though to say 'You don't know?'

"Well, at least you got a wife. Sure, she's kind of absent right now, but in the end you will rescue her, and then you will get a second honeymoon. While all I ever get to do is dream about Maya."

"Doc,…" Zachary tries to calm his comrade, but Doc is not yet finished with his tirade.

"None of those fanfiction writers ever cares to give me a love life – or a detailed background. Do they think I don't have feelings?

All I am is the guy who conveniently hacks the computer system and provides the comic relief."

"Humor is important, Doc. Besides, if those authors do give you a background, it's either traumatic or criminal or both."

"Sounds like you are speaking from experience."

"I swear by my and Eliza's dead relatives and the hidden tattoos on my body that I will never tell you," Zach states solemnly.

"Uhm, okay."

Doc keeps staring at Zach with an undefined expression in his eyes.

"What else?"

"No one loves me. I need a hug."

Zachary looks aghast. "There is no GR slash!"

"Are you sure? There are one or two experimental fics out there where…"

"I don't want to hear it!"

Doc looks dejected. "I'm going to get some cocoa from the kitchen."

"Don't interrupt Goose and Niko in their brooding! We need them fresh tomorrow morning."

Doc turns away, disappointed.

"Okay, I'll hack some computers then."

"Why? There's nothing on this ship that we don't already know."

"Computer hacking is what I always do if a fanfic author wants me to fade into the background."

Zach looks exasperated. Can't his job ever be easy?

"Alright, Doc, I'll play 'Settlers of Catan' with you."

Doc's face brightens from one second to the next.

"And the loser has to brave the kitchen for cocoa?"


	3. Chapter 3

Daisy O'Mega and Audra Miles suddenly find themselves on a deserted space station with a ticking time bomb next to them.

"O my God, what am I doing here?" Aura exclaims. "And where did the crabs go that I have been communicating with?"

"It is a fanfic," Daisy states as she checks her weapons. "Darn, that can only mean one thing: I am going to be reformed."

"What do I do? I have never been in a fanfic!" Audra asks, perplexed.

"You just go along with what the authoress wants. By the way, do you know how to defuse a bomb?"

Audra gives her a deprecating look. "Of course I do, I am an anthropologist after all. My jobs are always rough."

Audra starts working on the bomb. "Are you a Galaxy Ranger?" she asks her companion.

Daisy huffs. "Don't insult me. I am Daisy O'Mega."

Audra looks startled. "So if I defuse this bomb to save us, that means you get to harm more people."

Audra seems seriously troubled by that outlook. Her forehead creases with anxious thinking.

"I wish they would have sent Niko instead. She would have known what to do."

"I wish they would have sent Shane Gooseman instead, I would have known what to do with him," Daisy sneers.

Audra hesitantly continues working on the bomb while Daisy searches for a way to escape.

Audra discovers an emergency shutdown button. When she presses it, the bomb stops ticking.

"How long do you think do we have to stay here?" Audra asks into the sudden silence.

Daisy sighs. "If we are lucky, it is only a one-shot."


End file.
